A National Assembly member representing Gada Goronye Federal Constituency in Sokoto, Musa Sarkin Adar, has backed the directive recently issued by President Muhammadu Buhari to his ministers that they should not abandon their official duties for political campaigns.
Buhari had on Tuesday warned Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, and Heads of Government Agencies not to abandon the business of governance for electioneering, saying ”any infraction will be viewed seriously.”
The President gave the warning at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Ministerial Performance Review Retreat, preceded by his signing of Executive Order 012 on Improving Performance Management, Coordination, and Implementation of Presidential Priorities.
Notable among Buhari ministers fully involved in the Bola Tinubu and All Progressives Congress campaign is Festus Keyamo, who is the Minister of State for Labour and Employment.
Keyamo is the Spokesman for the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council. Speaking on Arise Television recently, Keyamo insisted that he has the capability to balance the two offices.
“The President’s directive to his ministers that nobody should abandon his statutory official work as minister to go and play politics is in order but he should have added that any minister who should participate in active politics should resign immediately like we’ve seen in the days of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Six months to time he’ll call a meeting saying anyone Interested in politics should resign and go,” Hon. Adar said in an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday.
“That we’ve not since in this government. The ministers even attempted to contest various political positions. They submitted their resignations, or they announced it and later went back to their offices, and yet nothing happened. I’m on the same page with President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Any minister that wants to go and campaign for the presidential candidate of the APC, whether on the state or national level, should resign. They should resign and be men of honour. You cannot eat your cake and have it.
“You’re occupying the prestigious position of minister. You’re not the only one. You were chosen among many and you’re being paid for that. You cannot just stick to your office and take advantage. If any minister goes to campaign for any political party whether APC or any other party they want to migrate to they should be sacked immediately.”